On his failed expedition to find the sea-way through the north-west-passage, John Franklin's two ships got stuck in the ice. A group of survivors decided to proceed by foot, and packed - paradoxically - furniture, money and other valuables in the life-boats (which they use as sleds) and set off. They weren't able to find a way back to civilization, and as members of the party died, their comrades constructed coffins and tombstones from the furniture they had brought with them, burying them by British standards; in six feet deep graves - quite an undertaking when dealing with permafrost.

The enormous need for a connection to civilization in a lost and hopeless situation is one of the most fascinating aspects of the recounting of Franklin's expedition, and a scenario which we find in most comparative stories - true or fictional - from the Lord of the Flies to Robinson Crusoe. This instinct, which in such situations can border on insanity, has been a primary source of inspiration towards these two sculpures, where monuments - two triumphal arches - have been constructed from two chests of drawers.